Beyond Blaming: A book of tools for students to help them resolve conflict

The no-fault classroom, written by Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hodson, provides a curriculum and tools that help students ages seven to twelve develop the understanding and skills to resolve conflicts themselves, in ways that considers everyone’s needs. Published in 2008, this book details 18 modules of the No Fault Zone curriculum, with each module focused on developing a ‘power’ that helps students communicate and resolve problems effectively, such as “The power to get on Calm Alert”, “the power to read feelings”, “the power to listen”, etc. The curriculum follows a journey that is guided by twins Nao and Michi, who live in the No-Fault Zone dimension. Each module includes a lesson plan, with fun and innovative activities and materials.

The curriculum is designed to help students move beyond the blame game, by providing them with the skills and tools needed to focus and understand the feelings and needs of themselves and others, to build trust and respect with their peers, and to guide the development of strategies for resolving conflict in a peaceful way.